(Adnkronos) – Italy’s government opposes any charges on shipping in straits where there are no man-made structures, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday after US president Donald Trump annouced a 20% levy on all cargo vessels to ensure their safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are in favour of freedom of navigation; we oppose any kind of toll in straits where there are no man-made structures,” Tajani told reporters at the foreign ministry.
Tajani’s comments came after Trump said on Monday that the United States was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be “reimbursed at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” for “costs incurred” in guaranteeing safe passage through Hormuz.
“Take Suez or Panama, for example, where there are man-made canals. There it’s fair to pay a toll, but imposing tolls for passage elsewhere sets a dangerous precedent, because tolls would then spring up all over the world,” said Tajani.
For an exporter like Italy (whose exports account for 40% of GDP), paying tolls to transit straits “is certainly absolutely unacceptable,” Tajani said.
“The basic principle is that of freedom of navigation, which we uphold. Therefore, we oppose any tolls for passage through straits,” he concluded.
The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world’s largest shipping association, has warned that any US-imposted tariffs could further reduce traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway and oil conduit, which it said has already ground to halt again in recent days.
